The evolution of cosmetic products results in the growing demands for cosmetics that are preservatives free. Plant essential oils were found to be a promising antimicrobial and also antioxidant agent. In this study, Cymbopogon citratus (lemongrass), Laurus nobilis (bay leaf) and Backhousia citriodora (lemon myrtle) essential oils were selected and evaluated for their antimicrobial properties. It was found that Laurus nobilis exhibited strong antimicrobial activity against the selected bacteria Streptococcus saprophyticus (ATCC 49619), Streptococcus aureus (ATCC 22923), Streptococcus pyogenes (ATCC 29436), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 13048), Klebsiella pneumoniae (ATCC 700603), Escherichia coli (ATCC 22922) with MIC ranging between 7.8 ug/mL to 250 μg/mL. The antioxidant activity of selected essential oils was determined by antioxidant assays which were 1,1-Diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl assay (DPPH), determination of ferric reducing antioxidant power assay (FRAP) and β-Carotene/linoleic acid bleaching assay. Backhousia citriodora and Laurus nobilis showed the highest antioxidant activity.
n-Octanal and β-Selinene were identified to be the major components with peak area of 26.37 % and 13.92 % respectively in secondary metabolites analysis by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GCMS).
The influence of pH of the electrolyte used during anodization of Titanium substrate has been
investigated in order to determine the optimum pH condition to form self-organized Titanium dioxide
(TiO2) nanotubes (NTs) structure. The TiO2 NTs was formed by anodizing Titanium substrate in an
electrolyte containing 1M of sodium sulfate (Na2SO4) with 0.7 g of ammonium fluoride (NH4F) for 180
minutes with potential 20 V. The optimum conditions were determined by characterization using FESEM
and XRD analysis. As shown in the result, it can be summarized that pH of the anodization electrolyte can
affect the length and diameter of the NTs as confirmed by FESEM images. FESEM result shows that, the
length of nanotubes increased as the pH increased which are from 50 nm to 424 nm for pH 5 and pH 7,
respectively. However, at higher pH more than 7, the nanotube structure was collapsed and only form
bulk oxide film. The FESEM result also supported by the XRD result as the peak at 24°
increased up from
pH 3 to pH 7 and drop at pH 9.
The synthesis of graphene by double thermal chemical vapor deposition (DTCVD) using waste of industrial cooking oil (WICO) as a natural carbon source was investigated. The synthesis parameter (Argon gas flow rate) was varied between 50sccm to 300sccm by 50sccm increments. The function of Argon gas is to provide ambient condition, remove the atmospheric air from the tube and could improve the crystallinity of graphene during synthesis. WICO (from AYAMAS food processing) was placed in the first furnace (precursor furnace) and nickel was placed in the second furnace (deposition furnace). During the synthesis, elevated quantities of carbon from the source material are separated and precipitated on the Nickel surface. The sample were characterized by using Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM), X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX), and Ultraviolet Visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy. Based on FESEM images, at 250sccm, hexagonal graphene formation was observed. Besides, optical properties can be seen by UV-Vis and as the results show that 250sccm is the highest reflectivity value. Consequently, graphene synthesis from WICO using various Argon gas flow rate as precursor is successfully demonstrated.